Cook County

Illinois home price growth slowest in nation last year

By Bryce Hill
02/03/2020
Home price appreciation in Illinois was the slowest in the U.S. between the third quarter of 2018 and the third quarter of 2019, federal data showed.

TAGS: Chicago, Chicagoland, Cook County, government spending, Great Recession, home values, homeownership, household income, housing, housing market, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, income tax, Indiana, investment, JB Pritzker, Lake County, mortgage, recession, spending, Springfield, tax hikes, tax increase

Chicago teachers who don’t want to fund CTU leadership’s politics have options

By Mailee Smith, Vincent Caruso
01/30/2020
Leaders of Illinois’ largest local teachers’ union received swift blowback after their latest push into public politics. Members dissatisfied with the priorities of their union’s leadership deserve to know they have other options.

TAGS: Chicago, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, government unions, Jesse Sharkey, Kim Foxx, labor, Lori Lightfoot, Nicolas Maduro, opt out, public sector, Stacy Davis Gates, strike, Venezuela

Madigan celebrates 35th anniversary as Illinois House speaker

By Austin Berg
01/12/2020
Illinoisans will soon cast a vote on the biggest ballot question in the history of Madigan’s record-breaking speakership.

TAGS: credit rating, Daley, debt, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, graduated income tax, house rules, House Speaker, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, legislative map, lobbying, Mike Madigan, patronage, progressive income tax, property taxes, redistricting, Richard Daley, Springfield, tax burden, U.S. Census Bureau

Illinois comptroller calls red-light cameras ‘broken and morally corrupt’

01/07/2020
Traffic cameras collected more than $1 billion from drivers since 2008, but corruption probes are prompting state comptroller to stop acting as ticket collection agency.

TAGS: corruption, David McSweeney, federal investigation, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Jeff Tobolski, Lyons, Martin Sandoval, McCook, red light cameras, Redflex Traffic Systems, SafeSpeed, Springfield

2019 laws in review, Illinois lawmakers passed both nice and naughty bills

12/20/2019
The Illinois General Assembly passed over 600 new laws in 2019. Some helped taxpayers, but many more hurt as they spent $85 billion while doing little to fix the pension crisis.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, capital plan, consolidation, Cook County, corruption, expungement, free speech, gas tax, government unions, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, JB Pritzker, lawmakers, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, Open Illinois Checkbook, progressive income tax, record sealing, Springfield, tax hikes, taxes, transparency, vehicle registration

Chicago City Council votes to ban lobbying by elected leaders

12/20/2019
Chicago’s second round of anti-corruption rules restricts aldermen and city employees from working as lobbyists and stops other elected leaders from lobbying city government for private clients.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, Chicago City Council, ComEd, corruption, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, John Cullerton, Larry Suffredin, lawmakers, lobbying, Lori Lightfoot, Luis Arroyo, Michael Zalewski, Michele Smith, Mike Madigan, ordinance, Springfield, Terry Link

Feds investigating former Cook County assessor, Madigan rainmaker Joe Berrios

By Austin Berg
12/17/2019
The probe potentially opens up a new front in authorities’ investigation of House Speaker Mike Madigan: the property tax appeals game from which he has made millions.

TAGS: capital project, Chicago, conflict of interest, Cook County, Cook County assessor, Cook County Democratic Party, corruption, Ed Burke, federal investigation, house rules, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, JB Pritzker, Joseph Berrios, Legislative Inspector General, legislative map, Madigan & Getzendanner, Mike Madigan, property taxes, redistricting, revolving door, Rod Blagojevich, Springfield

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016